Fall is in the Air

Okay, maybe it's not fall but it sure feels nice here in North Texas! A cool/mild/bland front blew through the summer high that has camped over my neighborhood for seven weeks and it, honestly, feels cool outside. Cool still being 87 degrees, of course! But after a high of 107 yesterday... yeah. I have my outdoor fountain hooked up under my arbor and flowing each evening under strands of lights and I plan to spend several hours outside the next few evenings, basking in 70-degree temperatures and picking my six-string. Played a few personal favs the other night. Christmas tunes. Oh yeah.

Wait a minute, is that the sound of sleigh bells I hear in the distance........?

— John


P.S. — If you see the trees turning color with the leaves falling gently to the soil below and the calendar says August, don't be confused. Fall has not arrived. It's just another good 'ol Texas summer. And those leaves? Poor things died of thirst, they did.

My Front Yard and Other Thoughts

Taking a break from gardening in my front yard this afternoon.....

Scattershooting on a slightly-more-than-extremely-searing afternoon in the Flowerplex...

• I've been dreaming lately about what I would do first if I was (Update: WERE) given a large sum of money, say 10,000 dollars or something like that. Of course, I have no reason to think that any such benevolence is coming my way and any financial venture I can think of would net, at most, a small loss. But what if... I won a competition. Or someone wanted to hire me as a consultant. Or my friend Chef Jerry and I sold about 2,000 911 Diet Plan: Kitchen Secrets videos.What would I knock out first (after giving some to my church)? Debt? Car Payment? Landlord? Help my folks? A little to all? Or would I do something crazy and get in my car, head down SH 114 west, and keep going until I hit the Pacific? Sounds fun. Like I said, I've been dreaming. 
• Braved the heat and bought some more plants today. Rescued some abused bell pepper plants at Wal-Mart and bought some basil and thyme at Calloways. I was looking for fall veggies but the price was WAY too high ($4 for six seedings? You kidding me, Wal-Mart?). I now have a good herb collection that I hope to only grow (pun intended) in the future. I have rosemary, parsley, basil and thyme. I grew some sage to complete the Scarborough Faire quartet but it died a few months ago. I love fresh herbs. They turn my cooking into a pseudo-gourmet affair.
• Went on a search for Christian media production companies last night and came to some stomach-turning conclusions. I have grown to kinda dislike Christian terms "faith-based," "family-friendly" and "safe." In themselves, they're okay, but when attached to an artistic endeavor they usually mean I'm going to receive a poorer-quality product. Point in case, I went to one media website and they came clean up-front about how their company existed to make movies promoting a socially conservative agenda. That's fine and good, I thought to myself, but as a consumer, I only want to know one thing: are the movies any good? How's the screenplay, the acting, the direction and the cinematography? Are the characters "real" and relatable or are they cardboard cutouts? Is the movie so scrubbed clean of reality that it can no longer be identified as reality? I watched the movie trailer for their newest movie and I couldn't finish it. It was baaaad. Wooden dialogue, fake emotions, poor camera angles, and not very compelling. I'm glad the company has a conservative Christian viewpoint as the movie's bones but it's going to stink if it doesn't have good flesh and skin. Many of the companies I found want to produce "faith-based, family-friendly, safe entertainment" but if that entertainment isn't any good, it won't find a market. Even in the church.
• I decided today that if I started up my production company again I would have the slogan, "Our agenda is to not have an agenda." My goal would be to produce documentary films and series that contain information that entertains. No "faith-based" agenda. I'm just a man of faith doing what he finds amusing and hoping others are amused, too. Simple as that.
• I soon after realized that if I did that I wouldn't have the 10,000 dollars to spend. And the beat goes on.....

Have a great Saturday afternoon!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmas!

Or so the song says. For me, it's beginning to look a lot like the death march that leads to Christmas, then January activities.

As a communications professional working in a church environment, there are only a few times of the year that I find myself twirling my hair, twiddling my thumbs, and reading Yahoo articles on the 10 best places to live because of boredom. Those times are May 23rd, July 29th, December 26th, and April 18th. I'm busy every other time of the year. Never more than the period that begins August 1st and ends February 1st. THIS is the "March to Winter," when fall ministries are signing-up participants, other ministries are recruiting volunteers, Thanksgiving and Christmas planning begins, and, eventually, winter/spring ministry planning begins and is executed (along with my brain cells, I must add). We have new sermon series and returning mission teams, changes to the auditorium and electronic ministries. And everyone wants something from me and my good nature wants to give it to them — even at my own expense.

I enjoy it, though, and am very happy to be using my college and life skills to benefit my church. Do I want to be a park ranger or travel guide most days out of the year? You bet your socks I do! Sitting under a pine tree at 8,000 feet of elevation, explaining how Kit Carson, Coronado, or Lewis and Clark navigated their way across an impassible pass. Ahhh... dreams. But then a voice calls from outside my office: "John? John!? WHERE'S JOHN?!?). Everyone knows where I am. Bolted to my desk chair, mouse in one hand, keyboard in the other, hair disheveled, large drink parked precariously close to the desk edge. Been that way for hours. Got six or more hours to go. Even though I enjoy a lot of my job, I think my adventurous side is still on vacation in New Mexico. The fact that I'm still editing my vacation video doesn't help me mentally break from my June trip.

I've entered a stressful time starting this month and I'll be relying upon the grace and rest of God even more than I have before. Actually, I'm getting excited just thinking about Christmastime. Last year we had an amazing concert called, "A Christmas to Remember" that knocked everyone's socks off. I was the technical director for it and I can't wait to help produce this year's concert. I also can't wait to put together new graphics with Thanksgiving and Christmas themes. The graphic material for winter/Christmas is plentiful.

The snowman on my desk? Now that may be overkill.

We are, in some ways, entering the most wonderful time of the year. After Labor Day the weather generally starts cooling, the holidays are looming, and people return to a normal pace of life after the summer.

I'll try to post more frequently but fatigue zaps me most evenings. I work in front of a computer all day, leading me to want to leave mine off when I get home. I think my eyeballs can only look at artificial light for yay so long.

Have a great Saturday!



Looking ahead......

The Purest Religion

Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come to the LORD

[And] bow myself before the God on high?

Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,

With yearling calves? 

Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams,

In ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I present my firstborn [for] my rebellious acts,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 

He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness (Heb. "chesed" meaning lovingkindness or mercy),

And to walk humbly with your God?

What does the Lord require of His people? What does God want from me? The prophet Micah laid it out plainly in his oracle before the people of Judah: do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before God. Three imperatives, all three tied together. To do justice is to make things right, to be on the side of fairness and righteousness. But what is mercy/kindness? By definition it is the withholding of deserved punishment, or... dare I say... the opposite of justice. Be just, God says, but develop a love for showing mercy to your fellow man. They deserve justice but God chooses to show mercy. Blessed are the merciful, our Lord said. One who is just and kind will walk humbly, for he or she is fully aware of their own need for mercy and that God is a just being who demands perfection as a standard. Any spiritually broken person tends to be a humble person. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

I love Micah's prophecy, not just this chapter but the whole thing. When I first truly studied it at seminary my mind, heart and imagination went wild. I connected with the prophet and his subjects and the oracle came alive to me. Same thing happened with Habakkuk. Micah is prophesying to Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, which had lost its spiritual way. A couple of bad kings had come to David's throne, Jotham and Ahaz, and even though the nation had turned away from God it still found itself quite prosperous as a result of His divine blessing. People had become comfortable with their wealth and riches. Their economy was good. But Assyria was gaining power to the far north and Israel, the northern kingdom, had become militarily aggressive. All was not well. So the people complained to God.

In Micah 6, the Lord responded. In verses 1-5, God calls His people to trial. They consider Him unfair? God calls the mountains to the jury box and then recounts His mighty deliverance of the nation from Egypt and his faithfulness to them through the centuries.

Through Micah, the people respond in verses 6 and 7. What should we do to get back right with you, O Lord? They offer three options:

1. Shall we come with burnt offerings, with the very best calves?
2. Shall we offer a mass of offerings, quantity for our sin?
3. Shall we offer our most precious thing, our firstborn sons — our inheritance?

Micah says no. God has laid out what is good in His Law and sacrifices are good things but they are not the spirit of the Law. It's not about ritual and frequency. Ten prayers are no better than one if you're praying them for the sake of quantity. What is the Law really about? It's about the character and holiness of God. How is the character of God reflected by man?

To do justly — to be just in righting wrongs and defending the poor, orphaned and widowed. This is justice to God. It's also pure religion. Listen to Saint James: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (Jas. 1:27)." Justice for the God-follower means defending the defenseless. It means being justice where there is an absence of justice. Not to judge the world, for this is not our job (it's God's), but to be God's ambassadors in upholding what is right and good and fair in God's eyes.

To love kindness/mercy/loving kindness — to be wanting to forgive the deserved-burden of others. After telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked a teacher of the Law: “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’  [hands]?” And he said,  “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” Loving mercy is ingrained in the task of following Christ. Just like the blind men Jesus came across, we once cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!" and He did. Now he asks us to to the same when others cry out for mercy. We should WANT to show mercy. This what it means to "love" mercy. It's not obligation. It's intention.

To walk humbly — to live in a state of brokenness mixed with healing. To know that God is just and you are not, by nature. To know that God has had mercy on you despite your unfaithfulness and His grace will sustain you. A person who lives in a constant state of self-awareness will walk humbly because they do not have any pride to stand on. Like Paul said in Ephesians 2, we were dead in our transgressions but, in His mercy, God has made us alive in Christ Jesus. Humbling ourselves before God is an acknowledgment of this transaction that has taken place — a transaction done only by God's power with no help from us.

The fact that spirit trumps ritual is seen in other places of the Old Testament, too. David, in Psalm 51:16-17, realized, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." In Isaiah, as quoted by our Lord Jesus, God condemns worship without heart, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men (Matt15:8-9)."

God is interested in our hearts more than our hands. Why do you act? What's your motivation? Back when I was a worship pastor I used to tell my congregation — gasp — that they should sing if their heart wants to sing but they should refrain from singing if they didn't mean it. For it was better to keep silent than offer empty praise. I was responsible to God first, my congregation second, and myself third.

On the flip side, what we do with our hands often directly reflects our hearts. If you truly believe something, you will act on that belief. This is where justice fits in. Justice is not just a belief. It is a cause that leads to action. If you see that brother on the side of the road, beat up and barely hanging on, don't just say a quick prayer for him. Help him! You may not have the money the Good Samaritan did but you can still help. Bandage the wounds, lift up the spirit, call for assistance. Minister unto the man. Be God's ambassador to him.

That is true religion. That is true justice. To right a wrong through the showing of mercy with an attitude of humility.

I wrote and performed a song half a decade ago called, "The Other Side." I don't have a good recording of it, otherwise I'd share, but here are the words.

The Other Side

Luke 10:25-37; Matt 5:7; 25:34-46; James 1:26-27

I am a stranger, I am a brother

I’ve fallen upon painful times

What I have had now is missing

How can you say that I’ll be fine?

Can’t you see my lowly condition?

Why pass me by on the other side?

Can’t you lend me some compassion?

Why pass me by on the other side?

I am a father, I am a neighbor

You see me struggle every day

For just a cloak or some cool water

Send some mercy along my way

Jesus said blessed are the merciful ones

For God has shown them great kindness

Tell me, dear brother, why do you wait

To bear your mercy, to show your faith?


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The Domain of Dusk

Tis a strange world, this domain of dusk that separates asleep and awake. It's a realm that knows no mercy; knows little grace. Where sleep is denied yet alertness wanes. This strange kingdom of semi-awake or semi-sleep.

As I ponder this awkward universe at one o'clock in the morning I must confess that I have no reason to be awake right now. I haven't slept well for days now for reasons beyond grasp. Every night I spend what feels like hours as an exhausted man desperate for unconsciousness but unable to achieve it. I just can't receive peaceful sleep. My mind doesn't seem to want it. Maybe it just doesn't realize that it needs it. Don't know. All I know is that I'm very, very tired but unable to do anything about it.

Before you start suggesting sleep aids, let me admit that I've tried most if not all and what they do is put me into some sort of semi-coma. They make my eyes heavy, for sure, and my head loses feeling but my mind and my heart stay active. It's pretty frustrating. I've tried prayer and confession but after a few minutes of silent peace my mind resumes its worry and strife. I keep hitting the anxiety snooze bar but my brain waves keep coming back... every... nine... minutes. Or so it seems. I'm off caffeine in the afternoons and turn off the TV long before bed. I don't read newspapers or go through my stack of bills. I really do want my brain to shut down. Just can't find that cranial power button.

Do you have problems sleeping, too? Maybe it's this hot weather, or the economy, or global warming, or... something... else. Maybe it's my stage of life or the wounds of recent experience or dissatisfaction with my spiritual life. Or all of the above. Don't you just hate those cocktails of contentious consciousness?

I wish I could turn to the New Testament to find theological help with my sleep problem but it doesn't seem to address physical sleep very much. Usually sleep is a metaphor for sin, darkness or blindness. The world is said to be asleep. So maybe I don't want to sleep after all! In the Old Testament, when Saul was asleep David stole his water jug and spear. Delilah cut Samson's hair when he was asleep and he got beat up and thrown in jail. Theology aside, thieves really like it when people sleep. In the New Testament, Jesus said, "watch and pray" to his exhausted disciples and chided them when they fell asleep in Gethsemane. So maybe being awake isn't such a bad thing!

After all, God never sleeps, does He?

But I'm not God. I'm a human who needs sleep. He made me that way. And He's fully capable of causing someone to fall asleep. Just like the prophet Jeremiah, who fell asleep during a vision he was having and when he woke up he was refreshed (Jer. 31:26).

Maybe God needs to give me a vision.

Maybe not. I probably couldn't handle it.

When I was younger I used to recite this psalm to myself during sleepless nights as a source of comfort.

"To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side." (Psalm 3:4-6)

As an adult I love to pray this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer: "Guide me waking and guard me sleeping; that awake I may wait with Christ and asleep I may rest in peace."

The domain of dusk isn't fun. It isn't really daylight and it isn't really night. It's that realm in between where visions are hazy and emotions confused. You'd rather be anywhere but there, be it night or day, asleep or awake.

It's two o'clock now. Time to aim for asleep once again in hopes of sailing away from this kingdom of the inbetween....

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